and now, the end is near!

Well folks, 2011 is all but over and what a year it's been!

Jan and Feb - Depressed and bored beyond belief of darkness, snow and subzero temperatures.

March to December- UK visit, Curry night with Also Eden, Marillion Weekend at Port Zelande, ran 10k with Mark Kelly, My daughter visited, My school mate Barbara and my mother visited, the summer went on and on, Also Eden and Sylvan released new albums, created the Marillion lyrics day, was interviewed by The Web UK, Appeared in the September Web UK magazine, Made loads of new friends, ran 6 charity races, beat my personal best again and again. raised £420 for the MNDA, UK visit in October, a long mild autumn, almost snow free until December and successfully surprised my wife on her 50th birthday with hotel, spa and birthday card from Marillion....2011 has been a fun year..

Happy New Year to all my friends out there and thank you for your friendship and support during 2011

Now positive foot forward into 2012!

More than just Marillion

Hi friends!

There is so much good music about just lately that I've decided to talk about other bands here too. Since we are all Marillion fans, some of these bands will be familiar to you already.. So watch this space over the next few weeks as a review albums and post tips to upcoming releases!

Happy New Year to you all

A Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my extended Marillion Family!

So much going on at your favourite dot.com

Marillion have a whole bunch of new goodies on sale.

Knitted hat - http://www.marillion.com/shop/clothing/knittedhat.htm

Scarf - http://www.marillion.com/shop/clothing/scarf.htm

Printed Jacket - http://www.marillion.com/shop/clothing/dotcomjacket.htm

Embroidered Jacket - http://www.marillion.com/shop/clothing/mlogojacket.htm

Polo Shirt - http://www.marillion.com/shop/clothing/mpolo.htm

Long sleeved t-shirt - http://www.marillion.com/shop/clothing/betterway.htm

Womens long sleeved t-shirt - http://www.marillion.com/shop/clothing/dancing.htm

Coffee Mug - http://www.marillion.com/shop/merch/dotcommug.htm

They have a new "Best Live" double album too - http://www.marillion.com/music/racket/bestlive.htm

Remember, to get extra added value for money by buying 34 Marillion credits for £30 (shop value £34) - That way you get an extra £4 for every £30 spent!

Solo Projects

Edison's Children featuring Pete Trewavas - http://www.marillion.com/music/solo/waking.htm

DeeExpus : featuring Mark Kelly - King Of Number 33 - http://www.marillion.com/music/solo/king.htm

2012 Tour shirts are available now

Calling all US Marillion fans

http://www.marillion.com/shop/clothing/ustour.htm

2012 Tour shirts are available now

30 day Marillion song challenge

Somebody on Facebook has created the 30 day Marillion song challenge. You may have seen these before, usually they are for genres rather than just one band.

Check it out and join in!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/30-Day-Marillion-Challenge/294864420533096

Will you be my friend?

On June 30th 2011 Marillion fans got together world wide to take part in a Lyric posting event. My idea was in invite 200 friends to join me with these postings, but it got out of control. I believe 8 to 10 thousand people worldwide took part.

It was such a surprise to us all, facebook was a sea of Marillion lyrics and photos. It was so huge that I was interviewed by Marillion's UK fan club and that interview appears in the September Fanzine (Left)

Fantastic to re-live that day again. Can't wait for June 30th 2012, when we do it all again!

Marillion US Tour dates

Marillion to tour USA June 2012 - the first time they have played there since 2004 - info directly taken from www.marillion.com

Date	City	Venue	Tickets
10 June Sun	Washington DC USA	9:30 Club	Tickets on sale 4th/5th November No Age Restriction
12 June Tues	New York City USA	Irving Plaza	Tickets on sale 4th/5th November Age Restriction 16+
13 June Weds	New York City USA	Irving Plaza	Tickets on sale 4th/5th November Age Restriction 16+
15 June Fri	Philadelphia USA	TLA	Tickets on sale 4th/5th November No Age Restriction
16 June Sat	Boston USA	Paradise Rock Club	Tickets on sale 4th/5th November Age Restriction 18+
18 June Mon	Quebec Canada	Imperial	Tickets on sale 4th/5th November No Age Restriction
19 June Tues	Montréal Canada	L'Olympia	Tickets on sale 4th/5th November No Age Restriction
20 June Weds	Toronto Canada	The Opera House	Tickets on sale 4th/5th November Age Restriction 19+
22 June Fri	Chicago USA	Park West	Tickets on sale 4th/5th November Age Restriction 18+
23 June Sat	Chicago USA	Park West	Tickets on sale 4th/5th November No Age Restriction
27 June Weds	Los Angeles USA	House Of Blues	Tickets on sale 4th/5th November Age Restriction 18+
28 June Thurs	Los Angeles USA	House Of Blues	Tickets on sale 4th/5th November Age Restriction 18+
29 June Fri	San Francisco USA	The Fillmore	Tickets on sale 4th/5th November No Age Restriction

Happiness is the Road - Sweden to UK by car.

We had a great trip to the UK last week. We also met up with some of our Marillion Friends while there.

Firstly we would like to thank Also Eden bass player Steve Dunn and his family for a fantastic Sunday roast!

Many thanks to Nathan Page for the guided tour of Nottingham!

We also met up with Karen Challinor, who has the same "Marbles Tattoo" as my wife and I. A photo had to be taken of course! Thanks Karen and Colin for driving from the other side of town to join us.

On the way home we took a small detour to Clacton on Sea to meet Marillion fan Julie Indge - thanks for the food Jules, lovely to finally meet you!.